The present invention generally relates to devices for absorbing shock. More particularly, the present invention relates to impact reduction devices for use in contact sports, gravity game sports, marksmanship, military or security activities, or other activities where protection from impact or projectiles is desired. Impact reduction devices may be directly placed against a part of the human body, they may be incorporated into an article of clothing, they may be part of a helmet, or they may be part of a device external to the user's body that serves to help reduce impact and/or prevent the penetration of projectiles.
Protective pads are used in a variety of applications to protect the body from injury-causing physical impact. For example, athletes often wear protective pads while playing sports, such as American football, hockey, soccer, gravity game sports, and baseball, among others. In addition, many marksmen wear protective pads while shooting firearms to increase their accuracy and protect their bodies from forces associated with firearm recoil.
In the case of marksmanship, not only will the recoil of a gun cause potential injury, but it may also affect the accuracy of the marksman. For example, if the marksman anticipates a recoil, he may flinch upon firing the gun. This flinching may disturb the alignment of the gun as it is fired leading to missed shots and inaccuracies. Use of a device to absorb the shock of the recoil may help to avoid flinching because the impact of the recoil against the marksman's body may be softened.
In the athletic industry, many pads are constructed of high-density molded plastic material combined with open or closed cell foam padding. This padding is stiff and absorbs the energy of an impact force, dissipating that energy over an expanded area. Thus, any one point of the body is spared the full force of the impact, thereby reducing the chance of injury.
Another type of pad often used in the athletic industry utilizes a honeycomb structure designed to be rigid in the direction of the impact, but flexible in a direction perpendicular to the impact. Upon application of an impact force, the honeycomb structure is deformed or crumpled in order to absorb as much of the potentially damaging impact as possible. In this way, less of the total kinetic energy of the impact is transferred to the body, while the impact reduction remains in the plane of the impact.
Similarly, in the firearm industry, a marksman may use a recoil buffer or arrestor to cushion the impact of a firearm as it recoils. Many recoil buffers are pads formed of a resilient material, such as leather, gel, foam, or rubber. Pads may be worn on the marksman's body or they may be formed as an integral part of a firearm, such as a rubber butt pad on a shotgun. The purpose of recoil buffers is similar to that of the athletic pads discussed above. That is, to absorb and disperse the energy of a recoil impact to protect the body of the marksman.
There are shortcomings with pads currently available for use in athletic and marksmanship applications. For example, athletes must often be quick and have freedom of movement. Existing athletic padding is generally heavy and bulky. In the case of padding having a honeycomb structure, the padding is rigid. Thus, use of existing pads decreases the ability of an athlete to move quickly and limits the athlete's freedom of movement. Many football players, for example, avoid the use of hip or thigh pads because of their weight, bulkiness, and the limiting effect that such pads have on mobility.
In the case of firearms, existing recoil buffers too often fail to disperse the kinetic energy of a recoil in a broad way. The result is that the full impact force of the recoil is concentrated in a localized area, resulting in flinching and possible injury.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an impact reduction pad that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and can have uses in many applications. The ideal impact material or padding should absorb, distribute and/or dissipate the force of impact superior to what is currently available. The goal of impact materials used for body protection is to be protective, lightweight, thin and flexible, thus not interfering with body movements or speed. In some situations, it is desired to have an impact material or pad that incorporates embedded smart or active physiologic sensing materials or devices, such as sensors that provide biofeedback to modify the characteristics of the padding material to prevent tissue or bone injury or its consequences and/or could inform the wearer or others of the wearer's physiologic status. Smart impact pads and materials could have integrated sensor systems, which can monitor the biomechanical and physiological responses to detect injury and quantify the impacts. These integrated sensors in the padding can measure and integrate the directional and rotational impact force into real-time data that can be interpreted and organized. The sensor system can allow the padding to be tuned. These smart pads could also have biosensors capable of monitoring physiologic and/or biochemical parameters and could detect abnormal values, such as values that might adversely affect human performance. Data from the sensors could be transmitted to inform other devices or people.